5 minutes - magazine 01 | 2025
Operatorʼs manual redesigned
Itʼs not just our cranes that are getting an update with LICCON3 – the documentation department has also undergone a general overhaul. “Searching is often easy; finding is not always so” – in the words of the Swiss author Walter Ludin, the focus was on finding the necessary information more quickly.
Tobias Bergerʼs team revised our tried-and-tested crane documentation, which also includes the operatorʼs manual. The content has been restructured and reduced to the essentials. The revised concept for safety information also improves the reading flow and thus promotes comprehensibility. All LICCON3 crane types and the LTR 1150 are currently supplied with the new version of the operatorʼs manual.
Michael Mahlenbrei, Tobias Berger and Daniel Nickchen (from left to right)
Michael Mahlenbrei has been working in technical editing for 28 years. Over 100 crane types have been described since then, and of course the writing style, layout and crane technology have gradually developed over this time. But the importance of precise, complete and comprehensible operatorʼs manual has also been increasingly recognised and appreciated. It is the basis for training courses and a reference work for all users. The operating instructions are a prerequisite for the intended use of our cranes and are therefore a necessary and mandatory part of the product. In order to maximise customer benefit, the entire work is structured and designed so that the user can find the necessary information quickly and easily.
Adrian Kukic, Handover center
“The introduction of the latest LICCON3 controller generation was the perfect time for us to review and revise the content of the entire crane documentation, including the operatorʼs manual. Due to the new control consoles and displays, it was necessary to adapt or create a lot of new content anyway,” explains Tobias Berger. “We also used a database-based editorial system for the first time. It enables the reuse of content in smaller modules and the use of dynamic links. The result is now clearer, more crane type-specific and more structured.” The new crane documentation is organised as follows:
Information for crane operators and assembly personnel
– Operatorʼs manual
– Use of the load charts
– Digital load charts
– Travelling when the crane is set up
– Wind speed charts for cranes out of operation
Information for maintenance and inspection personnel
– Maintenance and inspection
The revised structure of our operator ʼs manual simplifies the handling of our complex products and thus helps both our customers and us trainers.
Michael Mahlenbrei summarises the changes to the operating instructions as follows: “Improvements have been made in almost all aspects of the operating instructions: the structure, layout, graphic design and of course the content. Particularly noteworthy is the new structure of the content, which is orientated towards the chronological sequence of the crane operation.”
The revision also brings advantages for the creation of documents. Mahlenbrei explains: “We have broken down the content into topic-orientated, small modules that can be easily combined and linked together for different processes. This makes the creation of documents more efficient, more specific and more flexible.”
Safe operating instructions are based on complete and comprehensible descriptions. Additional safety information must be designed consistently and with as little redundancy as possible. Daniel Nickchen adds: “A key component of the revised safety concept regulates how safety information is integrated: A warning sign indicates an immediate danger due to incorrect operation and is labelled with a corresponding symbol.
Safety instructions are designed for training purposes. For example, they regulate safe movement on the crane. The safety chapter is a prerequisite for the training content. It contains clear role definitions and requirements for the user groups. With this classification, we were able to reduce the need for warnings and thus increase their impact.”
The new layout also supports users with links to more detailed information. This makes it easier to find and read up on related topics.
Our technical editors have put a lot of thought into the graphical representations of the operatorʼs manual. The relevant control and operating elements are clearly displayed graphically. The new visual representations and drawings impress with perspective views, rendered graphics and colour highlighting in digital media.
This article was published in the UpLoad magazine 01 | 2025.
